Brevities

Jewels have been, since ancient times, the delight of lovely women. Precious stones of all colors, pearls and diamonds have always been allied to feminine beauty, and romance and ruby and sin and sapphire are not only alliteratively but also emotionally linked. But a generation or two ago women were more or less indiscriminate in wearing their jewels.

Of course, the really gorgeous pieces, if they possessed them at all, they left for special occasions, but otherwise grandmother put on her diamond-drop-earrings or her string of pearls early in the morning, if she did not in addition pin on one of those big cameo brooches which one sees now and then in the stores dealing with antique jewelry, and which fill one with a fascination not a little akin to horror.

Modern woman has different tastes. She loves jewels as her sisters of yore, but they have to be displayed at the proper time and in the appropriate setting. She knows that it is incongruous to wear diamonds with a sweater, or a string of pearls with a sport suit. Yet even while donning her tailleur the modern woman does not like to forego entirely the ornament of jewelry, and having exquisite taste and artistic perception, she chooses simple yet beautiful pieces of hand-wrought silver to adorn her costume. Handwrought silver, fashioned by European and American craftsmen is always effective and always appropriate.

It has great decorative value though it is unassuming enough to be worn from dawn to dusk. In addition—and that will appeal to the instinct of the collector which slumbers in every heart—it is a splendid investment. Because all these little bar pins, brooches, rings and what not are the original creations of individual artists and have, therefore, an intrinsic value to which Time can only add.

For the Jewish woman it must be an especial satisfaction to wear these pretty pieces for her remote ancestresses in Palestine and even farther back in Biblical times wore similar ornaments. Hand hammered silver was a favorite adornment of the Patrician Jewess; bracelets, anklets, rings, chains, and various little ornaments worn on her girdle were made out of hand hammered silver, and when the Queen of Sheba appeared before Solomon, or when Esther stood in the Court of Ahasvuerus waiting to catch the eye of the King, they must have worn some hand-wrought silver among their sumptuous ornaments.